


No Fuss Birthdays Don't Exist

by theprincessed



Category: Emmerdale RPF
Genre: Banter, Birthday Fluff, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Male Friendship, Platonic Kissing, Platonic Soulmates, lack of boundaries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 22:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8119093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprincessed/pseuds/theprincessed
Summary: Sometimes Ryan feels like he has a beautiful wife AND a mildly ridiculous platonic soulmate, none moreso on the occasion of his birthday.(Partly inspired and based on this picture.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Blame my enablers for encouraging me to write this when I jokingly said "lol, wouldn't it be cute to do a Ryan/Daisy alternate fic take on Ryan's birthday?"
> 
> This is kinda like my BSAs ficlet in that Ryan and Daisy are happily married and Ryan and Danny are...Ryan and Danny. Their own brand of boundary-dissolving platonic weirdness.
> 
> Specifically for [TurquoiseTerrier](http://archiveofourown.org/users/TurquoiseTerrier) and her repeated use of the words "DO IT". Lol thanks for spurring me on, chicka! <3
> 
> Hope you and everyone else enjoy x

Ryan parks the car, turns off the engine and sits in the blissful silence for a moment. He leans back and exhales, briefly closing his eyes and letting go of the long day’s work. The fast pace and keeping on schedule is taxing enough, but trying to hide that it’s his birthday today made for some added pressure that he only has himself to blame. It only half worked anyway; Danny leaving him a muffin in the ‘green room’ area that had seen better days, with a hastily scrawled I.O.U. He’s not sure that’s how birthdays are supposed to go. Lucy did a little bit better with her pat to his jaw and a demand for a cuddle because she never gets to (yet) onscreen, with Isabel producing a slice of the most delicious cake seemingly out of nowhere.

Still, filming for Danny’s Instagram as they left might be the best part of his day so far. Everyone’s support means so much that it’s hard not to get swept up in it and enjoy it for what it is, especially when he’s feeling the extra love because it’s his birthday.

Feeling energised, Ryan grabs his rucksack, gets out of his car and heads for home. He's shut the front door and just put down his rucksack when he hears the excited patter of claws behind him and he turns around, smiling.

“Hello you, how's my favourite boy? Hm? Have you been good?” he asks, folding his dog into his arms. Tommy licks his cheek in response, animatedly happy to see him, as if Daisy's wound him up for the last hour. He laughs at the second pass of wet rasp of tongue and holds him under his tiny belly as his wife appears from the living room. “What's this? Send trouble to meet me at the door instead of you?” he teases, “No dressing up in lingerie to welcome your man home?”

Dressed in jeans and her favourite soft peach jumper, Daisy puts her hands on his shoulders and kisses his cheek. “I remember you saying this morning that you wanted no fuss.”

“Hey, no, c'mere,” he says as she steps back, pulling her close with his hand spread on her lower back. 

He dips his head to nudge her nose and is a hair's breadth away from kissing her properly when Tommy gets bored of being in his other arm and starts to wriggle, always impatient. Ryan puts him down in the hallway and focuses all his attention on Daisy, even as Tommy tiptoes between their feet. Free to touch her, Ryan kisses her like he did that morning in bed, lingering, happy, before pressing his lips to her jaw and down her neck, the scent of her perfume collecting strong in the hollow of her throat and the v-neck of her jumper showing just a teasing hint of cleavage. He feels her hand on the back of his head and the clench of her fingers in his hair as encouragement until she pulls lightly and dodges more of his light kisses with a giggle. Daisy presses their foreheads together and Ryan listens to them breathe the same air.

“I'm guessing you haven't eaten in a while. Go upstairs,” she tells him eventually, squeezing his biceps gently as he holds her, “There might be one or two things on the bed for you,”

“Yeah?” he grins, taking her hand and trying to tug her with him, “Come with me then,”

“It's nothing like that!” she laughs, letting go, “Relax, take a shower and I'll see what I can make you,”

“But it's my birthday,”

“How many times have you used that today?”

He shakes his head, “None. I - I didn't want anyone to know, even if some of them did. With you, it's...different.” He's helpless to the fact that his voice has softened.

Daisy leans her hands on his chest. “I know,” she whispers then turns towards the kitchen, “Now, go!”

Doing as he's told, Ryan goes into their bedroom to find another gift wrapped present on the bed to add to the ones he received that morning and decides to wait until he's had a shower before opening it to increase the anticipation. Danny's the complete opposite to him in that respect, but they have fun thinking up scenarios on set in between scenes and often try to guess what the other person would do to make it more interesting and amusing.

Once he gets out of the shower, Ryan positions his phone on their dresser and calls Danny on FaceTime because he figures this'll be the last bit of his evening that isn't spent with his wife and dog.

“Birthday boy!” Danny crows before he has a chance to say hello. “How's it hangin'?!”

Ryan rolls his eyes skywards as he scrubs a towel through his wet hair. He's had these jokes for weeks. “That was _one_ stunt and you weren't even there to see it!”

“Ah, but Is really came through on the picture front for me!” he laughs.

As Ryan pulls off the towel around his waist for a quick rubdown where Danny can't see, he notices that his friend seems to be in the back of a car, maybe a taxi, as the streetlights shift over his face. His skin glows golden as he leans forward, squinting suspiciously. “Are you naked?”

“How many times have I told you?” he asks, opening a drawer to swiftly tug on underwear so Danny is technically wrong. “That is way too forward for a chat up line!”

“Oh ha ha,” he replies, sarcastic, “I'm serious! People are gonna start talking if they find out our lack of boundaries,”

“I'll just tell 'em you're a terrible influence on me,” he grins, giddy as he walks towards the bed to pick up his present. It's square, flat and fairly squishy so he has some idea what it is, but he still gets a little thrill of excitement for the unknown.

“I thought it'd be a laugh!” Danny protests because he knows what particular incident is being referred to, involving his balls and a bubble bath.

Ryan sits on his side of the bed and unwraps the paper, revealing a plain navy blue shirt that's going to look pretty good with the last of his holiday tan. It's incredibly soft on his bare skin as it falls over his shoulders and he returns to his phone as he's buttoning it up. “What d'ya think?”

“Handsome as ever,” Danny smiles, actually sounding genuine before he sighs dreamily, “I wanna be just like you when I'm old,”

“Right! That's it! I'm going,” Ryan declares, picking up his phone from the dresser.

“Ah, y'know you're my favourite older man,” his mouth twists as he pretends to think, “except for Dominic. And Jeff. And Tony. And Mark - ”

“Alright, I get the picture!”

“ - But! But. Are you listenin'?” he points his finger sternly, not giving a jot that some nosy taxi driver could be listening to their weird conversation. It's normal to them, at this point it's normal to Daisy, but it's probably odd to total strangers. “ _But_ you're the best kisser for sure, mate,”

Despite the fact that they're playing around, Ryan finds himself self-consciously scratching the back of his neck. “Oof, nice save,” he smiles.

“See ya in work tomorrow for more of these!” Danny says, before he brings the screen terrifyingly close to his pursed mouth, blowing a series of exaggerated squeaky kisses before they both hang up at the same time.

With a half-laugh and a noise of half-disgust, Ryan tosses his phone onto the bed with a shake of his head and hunts around for his jeans, not realising that Daisy is standing in the doorway. 

“Is he drunk already?”

He spins at the sound of her voice. “What? Oh, yeah, probably,” he snorts, his attention caught by his phone briefly lighting up with a text message. He zips up his jeans and takes a look, the words _The Boyfriend_ on the screen. (The blame lays squarely at Adam Thomas for that oh so inventive change and is the reason he no longer lets anyone have his phone for anything when drunk.)

_Oops actually forgot! Happy Birthday, sunshine...again. You're a top lad y'know. Tell Dais I'mma steal ya away one day! Love you man <3 xx_

Ryan feels Daisy fit herself against his back, his new shirt soft and cool on her cheek and her arms meeting around his middle. “What's he say?”

“The usual.” he smiles, turning to put his arm around her shoulder to draw her into his side. “That our marriage is on borrowed time.”

“Better make the most of it then.” she jokes, playing along, “You ready?”

“Yeah. How do I look?”

“Gorgeous. My gorgeous boy.” She sucks teasingly at his earlobe and presses her body into his, making him lean towards her touch. Of course that's when she leaves him. “Now, there's more for you downstairs, if my other gorgeous boy hasn't been at the wrapping paper already,”

Luckily, they find Tommy in the kitchen with his squeaky rag doll clamped in his tiny mouth, shaking her furiously with joy. With him suitably distracted, Ryan opens the last of his gifts as Daisy keeps an eye on what's on the hob, ending with cards that includes one 'from' Tommy.

“I wrote it with my left hand,” she grins before clearing her throat and tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I mean, he wrote it all by himself!”

“I'm sure. With his eyes closed.”

She shakes her head and goes back to stirring as Ryan picks Tommy up and sits on the edge of the table, pulling the toy from his mouth and playfighting with him as he tries to show his displeasure at his fun being interrupted. Eventually, he ends up on his back across Ryan's thighs, preening from the scratches to his belly and all is forgiven. Looking down at him now lapping up the affection, it dawns on Ryan, as it does most days, that this is all he wants, to be here with his amazing, thoughtful wife and their mad dog. Maybe there's children in the distant future, maybe there's not, but he feels full up with love and contentment and smiles. The click of Daisy's phone makes him glance up and he sighs, watching her put it back into her pocket.

“Sorry, I couldn't resist!” she pouts, “He was looking at me with those big brown eyes and I had to.” She perches next to Ryan and smooths her hand over one of Tommy's ears. “You don't mind Mommy taking pictures of you, do you? Is Daddy being a spoilsport?”

Ryan's mouth falls open. “I haven't said anything!”

“You don't have to, I know you. But I wanna remember these things, okay?” She puts a hand to his jaw and kisses him deeply, Ryan struggling to keep Tommy occupied. She's really on the charm offensive when she suddenly breaks away. “Shit! The sauce!”

She runs over to the cooker and Ryan looks at Tommy in his lap, shaking his paw. “Good job we love her, eh?”

Later, when the food has been had (delicious and the sauce saved just in time from disaster) and Tommy has been put to bed downstairs, Ryan checks his alarm on his phone for tomorrow and settles against the headboard in bed, still waiting for Daisy to come out from their en-suite. He's had all his presents, which was more than what he expected, so he's not entirely sure what's taking her so long and it has him a little worried.

“Baby?” he calls, “Y'alright?”

There's no answer, but before he can get out of bed, the door slowly opens. Ryan sees her familiar silhouette before the bathroom light switches off and only the bedside lamps illuminate her in soft-focus. He raises her eyebrows and bites down on his lip, gaze taking her in from head to toe as she continues to lean in the doorway.

“I figured you deserved a little something extra before it officially stops being your birthday.” she says softly, sultry.

“I - ” he swallows hard, bowled over and giddy that his hot, sexy wife has really pulled out all the stops for _him_ today. She might not have met him at the door dressed like it, but this way is infinitely better. “I don't know what to say,” he huffs an awkward laugh.

“Then this,” she gestures to the black slinky robe and babydoll lingerie hugging her curves, “has done it's job.” Daisy glides towards him in bare feet, pink lace following the line of her breasts and the hips of her matching black knickers. She moves the sheets to get underneath them, the splits in the babydoll showing off her shapely thighs in a way swimsuits always do as she climbs in then immediately straddles Ryan's lap. She wiggles on his interested cock and frowns at the feel of his boxers covering him. “What're you wearing these for?”

“Well, I didn't exactly think this would happen!” he grins, pushing her shoulder length hair onto one side to nuzzle sucking kisses to her neck.

His stomach flips and cock twitches when she gasps. “It's your birthday, of course I had this planned. You'd do the same for me. God, darling, take them off,”

Ryan presses his hand between her shoulder blades and their mouths find each other in the dim light. “Not sure I would do the same y'know. Don't think sheer is my material,”

He's pleased when she giggles and between them they rid him of his underwear but he stops Daisy from sitting in his lap again, keeping her kneeling above him. He nods to her robe and watches as she balls up the silk and tosses it carelessly off the foot of the bed, yelping when Ryan drags her down against him and flips them both over so he's on top. He's going to enjoy every second of unveiling his last, most precious, beautiful gift.

\--

“Hey,” Ryan feels a hand push his shoulder, “you listenin' to me?”

Danny sits down on the backroom set sofa next to him, even though he's meant to be starting the scene standing up and will now have to find his mark again. Ryan glances at him, amused.

“Why're you always asking me that?”

“Because I dunno when you're bein' quiet or you're just not listenin', so I have to check.” Smiling and with a shake of the head, Ryan rubs his hand over his eyes. “Long night?” Danny whispers gleefully in his ear.

“I'm not the one who's hungover,” he quips, hiding his yawn.

“Mate, after that fry up this mornin' and necking about a gallon of water, I'm ready to roll!”

“At hers or yours?” he asks, perceptive.

“Why, you jealous?” he bats back, but Ryan can tell from his cheeky smirk that his phonecall from the taxi was the last time he was anywhere near his house since leaving for work yesterday morning. “I'll take that as a yes!” he adds before Ryan can get a word in edgeways.

Quick as a flash and not giving him a chance to brace himself, Danny tackles him down on the sofa and plants sloppy kisses all across his face. He can hear a few of the crew erupting into giggles, even by those who are used to them messing about as they wait for shots to be established or problems ironed out. 

“I hope you've got chewing gum on hand before you really kiss me,” he grimaces jokingly, moving his head at the wrong time so a loud smooch lands on his ear.

He blinks at Danny waiting above him before cautiously letting him press one to his lips, regretting it when he tries to kiss him with tongue and his own comes into contact with the taste of spearmint and the gum still in his mouth. He's helpless to resist joining in with Danny's mischievous laughter, but in between that and trying to shove Danny off him, Ryan thinks about Daisy and how great his birthday was last night and realises that a couple terrible (on purpose) kisses from The Boyfriend is a small price to pay for all that happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, lovelies x
> 
> I'm on tumblr at [theprincessed](http://www.theprincessed.tumblr.com). Come chat to me. :)


End file.
